CD Details

Entertainment Reviews:

4 stars out of 5 - "...A near-flawless declaration of strength and independence....AALIYAH is CONTROL, VELVET ROPE and JAGGED LITTLE PILL all rolled into one..."

Spin - 8/01, pp.130,132

8 out of 10 - "...Deeper than anything she's delivered before...This is a hard record....the drama plays nonstop: slinky resistance, sideways flirtation, an edgy dance on the verge of getting it on..."

Entertainment Weekly - 7/27/01, p.70

"...A largely up-tempo, thrillingly melodramatic set that again takes a melancholy...view of matters of the heart....the zingy hip-hop-textured musical tracks...echo the feverish passion of the lyrics..."

AALIYAH was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. "Rock The Boat" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

"More Than A Woman" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Aaliyah's self-titled third album comes some five years after her sophomore effort ONE IN A MILLION. . The singer has obviously put her time out of the spotlight to good use. She's joined here by a few old friends, including Timbaland (a co-producer of her previous album who also shares some production credits here).

For the most part this is a downtempo set, typified by the Missy Elliot-penned "I Care 4 U," a slice of old-school R&B that displays Aaliyah's sultry, fragile vocals to good advantage, and the Latin-inflected "Read Between the Lines." There's more depth to Aaliyah than her stock diva cover photos might suggest, as evidenced by the ambitious opus "I Refuse," which brings all the contradictions of a contemporary relationship into sharp relief, and the end-of-the affair "Those Were the Days," the lyrical and musical content of which reveal the singer's darker, more interesting side.